Judge McCorkle, re: the Josephs McDowell

Excerpt from "THE McDOWELS [sic] OF BURKE COUNTY Divided Over Who Commanded at King's Mountain, A SKETCH BY JUDGE M. L. McCORKLE": 

Joe, [Joseph McDowell] of Pleasant Garden, was a mere boy at the commencement of the Revolutionary War. Young as he was, he immediately went into active service in the Patriotic Army. He soon was promoted to the rank of major, in which his cousin Charles [McDowell] was colonel. He was engaged with it in every fight where his cousin commanded. When his cousin Charles retired from the command of the Burke and Rutherford Regiment he was placed in command. At the battle of King's Mountain he commanded the regiment, and Colonel Joe [McDowell], of Quaker Meadows, commanded the right wing of a "portion" of the regiment "under him." Hence, there is a dispute, which had the chief command in that gallant struggle. They were equally brave, equally patriotic, and equally able. One is known as Major Joe of Pleasant Garden, the other as Colonel Joe of Quaker Meadows. Both were at the Cowpens, where Colonel [Banastre] Tarleton succumbed to the sturdy blows of Col. [Daniel] Morgan. Major Joe possessed the fighting qualities which distinguished the family in all its branches. In the [Griffith] Rutherford campaign he killed an Indian in a hand-to-hand fight. He served from the beginning of the war to the close. He was not only a distinguished fighter, but an able statesman and civilian. He was a lawyer by profession. Several of his law books are now in my possession, in which he signed his own name. His autograph is "J. McDowell. P. G."

The signatures of the two Josephs are very different. The one signs his name "J. McDowell of Pleasant Garden," the other "Jos. McDowell of Quaker Meadows." They were known as Major Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Garden and Colonel Joseph of Quaker Meadows. Two of these law books of J. McDowell, in which is written his autograph, are "Hale's Pleas of the Crown," another "Vade Mecum." He was not only eminent as a soldier, but stood high as a statesman. He served in the North Carolina Legislature from 1785 to 1792. McDowell County was named in honor of him. He was a member of the North Carolina Convention of 1788, for the purpose of adopting or rejecting the Constitution of the United States in which he made a statesmanlike speech, opposing its adoption on the ground that it did not guarantee rights of the States, trial by jury and the great writ of "habeas corpus." He was regarded as possessing the brightest intellect of any of the name.

(Source: Originally read by Judge Matthew Locke McCorkle before the Mecklenburg Historical Society. Published in the Charlotte Democrat, Charlotte, N.C., 6 July 1894.)

From Pennsylvania to Virginia

During the French and Indian War Joseph J. McDowell, born 1715 in Ireland and son of the first Joseph of this line, served as a Lieutenant in Captain Robert Rutherford’s Company of Rangers, colloquially known as “Robins Rangers” in the Virginia militia. He is said to have been a member of the return escort for the survivors of Braddock’s Defeat in summer 1755. In 1758 Joseph was still listed as a Lieutenant in the Frederick County militia, but by October 1761 he had attained the rank of Captain.

Joseph J. and his Irish wife Margaret O'Neill had relocated to Virginia after their daughters Sarah, Nancy, and Elizabeth were born in Pennsylvania. After settling in Winchester, Orange County,* Virginia, their first son Hugh was born in 1742. Five more children followed, all born in Winchester: Charles, Hannah, Jane, John, and Joseph. Second son Charles was born 18 October 1743. His headstone would one day read “General Charles McDowell…, who died, as he had lived, a patriot.”** Youngest child Joseph, born 15 February 1756, would become “Quaker Meadows Joe,” the first of the two Josephs often the source of confusion after the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. 

As early as 1738, Joseph J.’s older brother Charles was in Orange County, Virginia, when he was ordered by the county court to assist in a road-clearing project. (At the time, it was common for courts to use road work as a form of taxation.) In 1740 Charles acquired 600 acres within Jost Hite’s grant along Opequon Creek in Orange County. Brother Joseph later bought the tract from Charles, increasing Joseph’s landholdings around Winchester to more than 830 acres.

Older brother Charles and his family continued southward along the Great Wagon Road. Their next destination was Timber Ridge, further down the Shenandoah Valley, which was already settled with McDowells and other kin.

* Frederick County would be created from Orange County in 1743. 

**Inscription on Charles McDowell's grave marker at Quaker Meadows Cemetery in Burke County, North Carolina.

The Josephs McDowell & Kin

In 1631 Thomas McDowell, son of Alexander, was born in the village of Glenoe, a settlement on the plain above the larger towns of Larne and Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland. Thomas became a blacksmith, and he married Anne Locke around 1668. They named the first of their five sons Joseph. He was the first “Joseph” of this McDowell line. Their other four sons came in succession: John, Alexander, Ephraim, and William. Two daughters, Esther and Sarah, followed.
Joseph would become grandfather and great-grandfather of the two American cousin Josephs McDowell who later became the subjects of much confusion in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. He married Ann Calhoun of Corkagh, County Donegal, Ulster. (Her father Robert was a Scottish immigrant born in Dunbarton, and maintained for himself the Gaelic surname spelling of “Colquhoun.” Ann’s sister Mary wed Huguenot Andrew Lewis, whose son John was a primary settler in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and a northstar for his McDowell relatives.) Joseph and Ann had four children together, all sons: Charles, Robert, William, and Joseph J.
Charles, Joseph’s oldest son, was born about 1697. He married Rachel, who gave birth to one son and five daughters. Son John, born about 1717, made the journey from Ireland to America as a teenager. In the American wilderness he earned renown for his skills as a hunter, and would ever after be called “Hunting John” McDowell. Hunting John, like his father, would have but one son, born in 1758: Joseph “of Pleasant Gardens,” one of the McDowell cousins of the Revolution.
Joseph J., the youngest of Joseph and Ann’s sons, was born 27 February 1715, nearly twenty years after his oldest brother Charles. Young Joseph J. was raised to become a weaver in Ireland’s textile industry, but he instead emigrated to America shortly after taking the thoroughly Irish Margaret O’Neill* for his bride. As a grandson of Scottish lowlanders, Joseph J. McDowell had allegedly offended his wife’s Irish relatives by marrying one of their own. Margaret was, after all, a member of Ireland’s revered O’Neill clan, descended from a Gaelic dynasty that ruled much of Ireland in the early Middle Ages, particularly in the north. They were fierce nativists and did not take kindly to clouding their pure Irish gene pool with outsiders. Rather than tempt a tragic fate, Joseph J. McDowell and his bride Margaret fled Ireland for the American colonies, and their eight children would all be born there. The youngest, born in 1756, would be named Joseph, and later in life became known as “Quaker Meadows Joe,” the other McDowell cousin in question. 
The children of the first Joseph McDowell did descend from lowland Scots, the target of native Irish discrimination. But they were also nephews of Ephraim McDowell, who, at age 16, helped defend Londonderry against the approach of Jacobite Alexander MacDonnell at the beginning of the Williamite War in Ireland in December 1688. Ephraim also served in the successful defense of Ireland at the tide-turning Battle of the Boyne two years later against England’s deposed King James II. In 1729, though, Ephraim left with his children  and grandchildren to live the rest of his years in America. He continued a life of service, and was a member of the Virginia militia until age 70, when he was deemed too old to serve. (He nevertheless lived another 30+ years.) He was progenitor of the McDowells in the colony of Virginia, as well as in the territory that became Kentucky, on the far side of the mountains. Indeed, he is also said to have built the first road across the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ephraim McDowell was an exceptional man and set an example for the generations that followed. 

*Margaret O’Neill, daughter of Samuel O’Neill (c. 1680-), was born about 1717 at Shane’s Castle on Lough Neah in County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland. Built in 1345 by a member of the O’Neill dynasty, the castle was originally called Eden-duff-carrick. Shane McBrian O’Neill (c. 1530-1567), known by historians as Shane the Proud, renamed it for himself. Numerous additions were made to the castle complex throughout the centuries. Shane’s Castle has been used extensively as a set location in all seasons of HBO’s award-winning series Game of Thrones.

Joseph of Quaker MeadowsCongressional Biography

From the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 

"McDOWELL, Joseph, (father of Joseph Jefferson McDowell and cousin of Joseph McDowell [1758-1799]), a Representative from North Carolina; born in Winchester, Va., February 15, 1756; moved to North Carolina with his parents in 1758; attended the common schools and Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), Lexington, Va.; served against the Indians on the frontier and later took an active part in the Revolution, attaining the rank of colonel; engaged in planting; elected to the Continental Congress in 1787, but did not attend; delegate to the State constitutional convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1789; member of the State house of commons in 1791 and 1792; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1794 to the Fourth Congress; elected as a Republican to the Fifth Congress (March 4, 1797-March 3, 1799); was not a candidate for renomination in 1798; moved to Kentucky in 1800, but returned to North Carolina in 1801; died at his brother's home at Quaker Meadows, near Morganton, Burke County, N.C., February 5, 1801; interment in Quaker Meadow Cemetery, on his father's plantation, near Morganton, N.C."

Pension Application of Joseph Dobson, Jr.

W19187 
State of North Carolina, Burke County
On this 22nd day of October 1832 Personally appeared in Open Court before the Justices of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions now sitting Joseph Dobson, Esq. a resident of said State and County aged 76 years. his age was recorded in a large Family Bible by his Father which Bible the said Joseph now has and which states that he the said Joseph “was born on the 4th day of June 1756” who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefits of the Act of Congress passed the 7th June 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated. — He first Volunteered in the month of March 1776 for __ months under Capt. John Hardin, Lt. James Brittain; our Regt. was commanded by Colonels Beakman & Charles McDowell afterwards Gen. McDowell. Gen. Alexander Martin commanded the expedition. I volunteered in this County. We were marched down to Cross Creek now Fayetteville against the Scotch Tories. The foot troops under Gen. Martin did not get on in time to aid Gen. Caswell in whipping and taking the Tories. He, Caswell, had a battle with them on Black River our Horse got on and was in the battle. We were then marched down to Wilmington where we remained some time. We were then marched back to Lincoln County N. C. & discharged by Col. Beakman as well as I can recollect we were discharged in July or August. I was between 4 & 5 months in the service. I next volunteered under Capt. Joseph McDowell in the fall of the year 1776. He believes Frank Lock* was the Colonel. The whole commanded by Genl. Rutherford. We marched to the Valley Towns in the Nation. There was no general battle fought and scouting parties & spies a number of skirmishes. We destroyed their Towns, crops &c & took a considerable quantity of plunder. We returned & our company was discharged near the head of the Catawba River in Burke County N.C. During the campaign I was transferred from Capt. McDowell's Company to Capt. Thomas Lytle's company of spies and served under him for some time. He believes there was no written discharge given to the any of his company but they were just dismissed by the officers & directed to return home.
He next volunteered at Sherill's Ford in Lincoln then Rowan County N.C. and was placed under the command of Capt. Thomas Donoho, Col. Archibald Lytle & Genl. James Thaxton. I volunteered for nine months & was marched through N.C. across Dan River into the edge of Virginia. Our officers then received orders to return to this State which they done & took up quarters at Moon's Creek & remained there till the Legislature which was then sitting at Hillsborough broke up. This he thinks was in the month of November. The men were then furloughed till next March. We rendezvoused at the expiration of our furloughs at Charles Ward's in Lincoln County N.C. and were marched to South Carolina. We crossed Savannah River & were put under Genl. Ashe. We were attacked at Briar Creek & defeated by the British. We retreated as fast as we could. The attack was before day & some of our troops were thrown into such confusion that every man had to fight for himself. There was a number of us that got to a Flat on the Savannah River & commenced crossing but before we could cross the British got to the bank & fired upon & killed six or seven men & wounded some others. We collected together on the South Carolina side and were then marched to George Town. We were shortly after marched back towards Charleston & to the Stono Battle which battle I was in under my same Capt. Donoho & Col. Lytle. From thence we marched up to Puriesburg & discharged. This I think was in 1779. — This service including my furlough was over Eighteen months.
He next volunteered under Capt. Joseph McDowell, afterwards Genl. Jo. McDowell, who commanded a company of horse. We started in February or March 1780—& were kept ranging the Country after Tories till the 20th day of June 1780—when we attacked the Tories at Ramsour's Mills. This was where Lincoln Town now stands. We commenced the action between daybreak & sunrise. We defeated the Tories & took a number of prisoners. He was wounded slightly in the hip & his right knee cap slightly cut with a bullet which passed through his horse & killed him. He is enabled to fix the precise date of the battle from a record made of his Brother John Dobson's death who was killed in the battle. John Dobson was a Captain at said Battle He continued under Capt. McDowell and was with him at the Skirmish with Ferguson's men on the head of Cane Creek. We formed after that skirmish and another one at Allen's place on Muddy Creek both of which were in August 1780. That we were not able for Ferguson & we retreated across the mountains to Watauga River now Carter County Tennessee. We then joined Sevier & Shelby and afterwards fell in with Col. Campbell after recrossing the mountains. We then persued on after Ferguson till we overtook him at King's Mountain where we had a great engagement & gave him a total defeat. This battle was in October 1780. He was wounded by a ball passing through his right arm near the elbow joint and also by another which struck him on the left side & ranged round his back & lodged in his right shoulder & was cut out by a British Doctor who was taken prisoner at the battle. He was hauled in a wagon by Col. Johnson up into Lincoln County to the house of George Wilfong & there left where I remained for some days till I was well able to ride a horse. Mr. Wilfong then sent his son with me & loaned me a horse to ride home. I got no written discharge after that battle but was sent home as a wounded man. I was nine or ten months in service during this tour.
I was afterwards elected a Captain of a Light horse Company & went out a short expedition against the Cherokees. Maj. Joseph McDowell commanded us. There was only 98 men went out. We took some prisoners & plunder & returned home after being a few weeks absent. I remained a Captain till the close of the War. I was then under the orders of Gen. Charles McDowell and kept in service off & on as necessity required. At one time I commanded at Waford's Fort against the Indians & also at Cathy's Fort & was kept shifting about as the exigencies of the company required, some time on scouting parties & some time in the Forts. He had no regular commission as a Captain; was elected by his men and recognized as a Captain.
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present one and declares that his name is not on the pension Roll of the agency of any State. Sworn and subscribed day and year aforesaid.
S/ Joseph Dobson

*Note: This was Colonel Francis Locke, under whom Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens was commissioned a Major during General Griffith Rutherford's Cherokee campaign in 1776.
____________________

Dr Joseph Dobson, born 1720 in England, was a friend of the McDowell family. Dobson had located to the Carolina frontier from Lunenburg County, Virginia, in 1764, and numerous documents associate him with the McDowell families of both Quaker Meadows and Pleasant Gardens. He was a contemporary of Captain Joseph J. McDowell, and even a witness to the Captain’s 1770 will. Joseph of Pleasant Gardens apprenticed under Dr Dobson after the Revolutionary War to earn his accreditation as a physician. Dr Dobson’s son, yet another Joseph, born 4 June 1756 in Virginia, and served in the North Carolina militia under both Colonel Charles McDowell and Captain Joseph “P.G.’’ McDowell. This pension application is his.

more Joseph McDowell confusion...

From The Political Register and Congressional Directory, by Benjamin Perley Poore, pub. 1878, Houghton, Osgood and Company, page 512:

McDowell, Joseph (father of Joseph J.* McDowell), was born at Winchester, Virginia; and his father soon afterwards removed to Burke County, North Carolina; was active in the Revolutionary movements, commanding a portion of the right wing under his brother [-in-law] Joseph at the battle of King's Mountain October 7, 1780; was a member of the House of Commons of North Carolina 1782-1788; was a member of the convention of 1788 to consider the adoption of the Federal Constitution, which he opposed; was elected to the Third Congress, serving from December 2, 1793, until March 3, 1795;** was again elected to the Fifth Congress, serving from May 15, 1797, to March 3, 1799.

*Joseph Jefferson McDowell (1800-1877)
**This is an error. It was his cousin Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens that served in the Third Congress. Please reference the U.S. Congressional Biography posts for each (linked via US Congress index labels.)

North Carolina's McDowell Heroes

From North Carolina, 1780-'81: Being a History of the Invasion of the Carolinas, by David Schenck, pub. 1889, Edwards & Broughton, North Carolina, pp. 464-466:

To the brothers, Charles and Joseph McDowell, of Quaker Meadows, and to their no less gallant cousin, Joseph McDowell, of Pleasant Garden, Burke County, North Carolina, are due more credit and honor for the victory of King's Mountain than to any other leaders who participated in that decisive and wonderful battle. Yet, the name of McDowell does not appear on the granite shaft, raised by patriot hands, on those memorable heights—a reproach to the intelligence of the men who wrote its inscriptions and an indignity to North Carolina which contributed so largely to construct the monument. It was Colonel Charles McDowell, and Major Joseph McDowell, his brother, who originated the idea of organizing a force to capture Ferguson, and in conjunction with their cousin, they were the most prominent in executing the plan which they had conceived.

Major Joseph McDowell was subsequently a General of militia and was known as General McDowell. He also served as a member of Congress from North Carolina during the years of 1787, 1788, 1791 and 1792. In 1788 he was a member of the State Convention which met for the consideration of the Federal Constitution. He was of Scotch-Irish descent; his ancestors came to North Carolina by the way of Virginia. The McDowells of North 
Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio are all of one common stock.

On one of the foot hills of the Blue Ridge, a beautiful round knob, selected for its lovely view, and overhanging the "Quaker Meadows," is the cemetery of the McDowell family. On a slab of marble, erected as a head-stone, is this inscription:

"TO THE MEMORY OF 

GENERAL CHARLES McDOWELL, 

A WHIG OFFICER IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 

WHO DIED, AS HE HAD LIVED, A PATRIOT, 

THE 31ST MARCH, 1815, AGED 

ABOUT 70 YEARS." 

By his side is the unmarked grave of Major Joseph McDowell, his brother. Not a stone is raised 
to his memory; not a line is carved to recount his deeds of valor and patriotism; no epitaph tells the 
story of King's Mountain and Cowpens and Ramsour's Mill, where he was foremost in the fight; 
no record speaks to the stranger and says, here lies a hero who was victorious in every field, and never 
turned his back on a foe. The only mark that indicates the grave of this gallant soldier is the 
letter J rudely carved on a white oak tree that stands at its head.

What a reproach to those who enjoy the liberties that were purchased with his blood! Will the State he loved and served so well suffer this reproach to continue? 

Close by his side, the remains of his cousin, Joseph McDowell,* of Pleasant Garden, lie. On a head-stone is this inscription:

HERE LIES THE BODY OF 

CAPTAIN JOSEPH McDOWELL, 

BORN 27TH FEBRUARY, 17-5, 
(the other figure obliterated) 

AGED 60 YEARS." 


[*Blogger's note: *Actually, this is Capt. Joseph J. McDowell, born 1715 in Ireland, the father of Charles and Joseph of Quaker Meadows. Cousin Joseph "P.G." McDowell was interred at Round Hill Cemetery on his Pleasant Gardens estate.]

Isaac Shelby, re: Charles McDowell, per Draper

From King's Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King's Mountain, by Lyman Copeland Draper, pub. 1881, P.G. Thomson, pp. 188-190:

[Isaac] Shelby's object in suggesting Colonel [William] Campbell's appointment [to command at Kings Mountain], is best explained by himself. "I made the proposition," says Shelby in his pamphlet, in 1823, "to silence the expectations of Colonel [Charles] McDowell to command us—he being the commanding officer of the district we were then in, and had commanded the armies of militia assembled in that quarter all the summer before against the same enemy. He was a brave and patriotic man, but we considered him too far advanced in life, and too inactive for the command of such an enterprise as we were engaged in. I was sure he would not serve under a younger officer from his own State, and hoped that his feelings would, in some degree, be saved by the appointment of Colonel Campbell." In his narrative, in the American Review, December, 1848, Governor Shelby makes no reference to McDowell's age, but simply states, that he "was too slow an officer" for the enterprise. 
Though Colonel Shelby speaks of McDowell's age as objectionable for such a service, it really deserved little, if any, consideration. He was then only some thirty-seven years of age—Colonel Cleveland was some years older, and Shelby himself, the youngest of the Colonels, was only seven years his junior. It may be curious to note, that "Old Put," then in active service, was twenty-five years older than McDowell, General Evan Shelby, the Colonel's father, who, the year before, commanded an important expedition against the Chicamauga Indian towns, was twenty-three years older, General Stark fifteen, Washington eleven, Marion ten, Sumter at least four, and General Greene one. The real objection to Colonel McDowell was not so much his age, as his lack of tact and efficiency for such a command; and, it has been hinted, moreover, that his conduct at the Cane creek affair was not without its influence in producing the general distrust entertained of his fitness to lead the mountain men on this important service. The expression was quite general, that General Morgan or General Davidson should be sent to take the command; the former, especially, who had gained such renown at Saratoga, and had recently joined General Gates, was highly esteemed by the mountaineers.

Colonel McDowell, who had the good of his country at heart more than any title to command, submitted gracefully to what was done; but observed, that as he could not be permitted to command, he would, if agreeable, convey to head-quarters the request for a general officer. This was warmly approved, as it was justly declared that he was well acquainted with the situation of the country, and could, better than any other, concert with General Gates a plan of future operations, and they would await his return. The manner in which this was presented gratified McDowell, who at once set off on his mission, leaving his men under the command of his brother, Major Joseph McDowell. Passing through Burke county, McDowell's command, particularly, was considerably increased by relatives, friends and neighbors; and there John Spelts, or Continental Jack, as he was familiarly called by his associates, first joined Shelby's regiment, but fought under McDowell. Colonel Campbell now assumed the chief command; in which, however, he was to be directed and regulated by the determination of the Colonels, who were to meet every day for consultation.
Everything was now arranged quite satisfactorily to the Whig chiefs; and their men were full of martial ardor, anxious to meet the foe, confident of their ability, with their unerring rifles, to overthrow Ferguson and his Loyalist followers, even were their numbers far greater than they 
were represented.

Wheeler, the confusion, and "Hunting John"

From Reminiscences and Memoirs of North Carolina and Eminent North Carolinians, by John H. Wheeler, Columbus Printing Works, Columbus, Ohio, 1884:

In my "History of North Carolina," as to this family, it is stated that Charles and Joseph McDowell were brothers, the sons of Joseph, who, with his wife Margaret O'Neal, had emigrated from Ireland, settled in Winchester, Virginia, where Charles and Joseph were born. For authority of these facts, statements were furnished from members of this family and others which were believed. Recent and more thorough examinations make these statements doubtful. A letter from one of the family* to me, states: "It is singular how inaccurate has been any knowledge as to this family. An investigation, instituted some time ago, with a view of establishing a descent which would lead to the securing of a large estate through Margaret O'Neal, developed the fact, beyond all question, that her husband (the father of General Charles McDowell, and General Joseph,) was named John instead of Joseph, that they married in Ireland, and lived at Quaker Meadows, in Burke County."
Lanman, in his "Biographical Annals of Congress," states: "Joseph McDowell was a Representative in Congress from 1793 to 1795; and again from 1797 to 1799."
The family tradition and record is, he died in 1795. The first error does not destroy the truth of history that the family were of Irish origin; and the second arises from there being two of the same name of the same family. Every effort and pains have been taken to make the present sketch correct. If any error occurs, the corrections will be gratefully received. In compiling genealogical tables, or pedigrees, great attention is necessary in clearly stating the number of generations, in any given period, as they form a guide to the probability of persons having sprung from any particular ancestor or individual. A generation is the interval between the birth of a father and the birth of son. Thirty-three years have been allowed to a generation, or three generations for every hundred years. The birth and death dates, as well as the location, should be stated, since "chronology and locality are the eyes of history." The repetition of the same names, without dates or place, creates confusion in our American genealogy, as it has caused in this instance.
John McDowell, called "Hunting John," who resided at Pleasant Gardens, was one of the early pioneers of Western Carolina. He was, it is believed, a native of Ireland. He and a man by the name of Henry Widener, (many of whose descendants now live in Catawba County, known by the name of Whitener,) came to this country when it was an unbroken wilderness, for the purpose of hunting and securing homes for their families. John McDowell built his house on the west side of the Catawba River, on land now called the Hany Field, a part of the fine body of land well known as "The Pleasant Gardens," which for fertility of soil, healthfulness of climate and splendor of scenery, cannot be excelled.
The date of his birth, or the time of his settling, or the date of his death, from the loss of family records, cannot be given; but from tradition, he lived in this lovely spot with his wife (Mrs. Annie Edmundston) to a good old age.
He was a famous hunter, and delighted in "trapping," and to a late period of his life, he could be seen on his way to the mountains, with four large bear traps tied behind him on his horse, with his trusty rifle on his shoulder. On these excursions he would go alone, and be absent for a month or more, hunting the deer, turkies, and bears, and in silent communion with nature and with nature's God. He realized the exquisite lines of Byron--

Crime came not near him; she is not the child
Of solitude. Health shrank not from him,
For her home is in the rarely trodden wild; [...]
Tall and swift of foot were they,
Beyond the dwarfing city's pale abortion,
Because their thoughts had never learned to stray
On care or gain; the green woods were their portion,
No sinking spirits told them they grew gray,
No fashion made them apes of her distortion
Simple and civil; and their rifles
Tho' very true, were not used for trifles.**

He left two daughters and one son: Anna, who married William Whitson; Rachel, who married John Carson; and Colonel Joseph McDowell, who was born on 25th February, 1758, at Pleasant Gardens, in Burke County. He was always called "Colonel Joe of the Pleasant Gardens," to distinguish him from "General Joe of Quaker Meadows."

* Dr. G. W. Michal, of Newton, N. C., to whom I am indebted for much information as to the McDowell family.

_____________________

[**These lines from Lord Byron's Canto VIII combine passages from stanzas LXII & LXVI that are very loosely transcribed.]

_____________________

Note: A genealogical breakout including brothers Joseph and Charles McDowell, "Hunting John" McDowell, and the cousins Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens and Joseph McDowell of Quaker Meadows is contained in the 12.21.07 blog post Joseph McDowell & Draper's Misstatement.

"Hunting John" & his son Joseph, of Pleasant Gardens

From Historic Families of Kentucky, By Thomas Marshall Green, Published 1889, R. Clarke, Kentucky, pp.24-25:

... "Hunting John," was the first of the McDowells to move to the Catawba country. Draper narrates that when Charles McDowell called the leading men of the Catawba valley together, in 1780, and, to meet the present emergency, suggested that they should repair to Gilbert Town, and there take British protection, as the only means of saving their live stock, which were essential to the support of the country—justifying it as a temporary expedient—"Hunting John" absolutely refused to adopt the suggestion. With others who agreed with him, he proposed to drive all the stock they could collect into the deep coves at the base of the Black Mountain, leaving to others the humiliating office of taking protection, in order to save the remainder. The distinguished Indian fighter, Captain John Carson, and the Davidsons, and others, were selected to take protection, which they did, deeming it justifiable and not unpatriotic under the circumstances. His [i.e., Hunting John's] son Joseph McDowell, who married Mary Moffett, was born at the Pleasant Garden, February 25, 1758. A boy when the Revolution broke out, he immediately went into active service in the patriot army. He soon rose to a captaincy in the Burke regiment, of which his cousins Charles was the colonel and Joseph the major. He was with it in every fight in which it was engaged. At King's Mountain, while Major Joseph, of Quaker Meadows, acted as colonel, Captain Joseph, of Pleasant Garden, acted as major. Hence the dispute as to which of the two it was who commanded in that fight. They were equally brave, equally patriotic, equally able. Captain Joe, of the Pleasant Garden, is the one known in history as major, while he of the Quaker Meadows is known as colonel [and subsequently, respectively, colonel and general]. Both were at the Cowpens, where Tarleton succumbed to the sturdy blows of the wagoner, Morgan. Serving from the beginning to the close of the war for independence, Major Joe [of Pleasant Gardens] possessed the fighting characteristics which distinguished the breed in all its branches. In the Rutherford campaign he killed an Indian in single combat. Educated as a physician, his distinction as a statesman was not less than that he won as a soldier. As Joseph McDowell, Jr., he served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1787 to 1792. McDowell county, North Carolina, was named for him. He was also a member of the North Carolina Convention of 1788, and was generally regarded as the brightest intellect of any of the North Carolina connection. He died in 1795, leaving several children.

Joseph McDowell / John Carson1798 War Department Accounting

From Papers of the War Department, Center for History and New Media, George Mason University:

(click image to enlarge)

Document Information
Date: June 27, 1798
Author Name: William Simmons (primary)
Location: Accountant's Office
Recipient Name: Joseph McDowell (primary)

(Source: Collection: National Archives and Records Administration: Letterbook, War Dept Accountant, RG217)

Running the Boundary Line

From A History of Watauga County, North Carolina, by John Preston Arthur, published 2002, Genealogical Publishing Company, page 120:

Running the State Line.— As the Cherokees occupied the territory southwest of the Big Pigeon River in what is now Haywood County, no provision was made for running the line beyond this point. Generally speaking, the line was to follow the tops of the Stone, the Smoky and the Unaka Mountains from Virginia to Georgia, but to be surveyed and marked only from Virginia to the Pigeon. The surveying party consisted of Col. Joseph McDowell, David Vance, Mussendine Matthews, speaker of the House, commissioners. John Strother and Robert Henry were the surveyors. The party met May 19, 1799, at Captain Isaac Weaver's, near what is now Tuckerdale, a station on the new Virginia-Carolina Railway, in Ashe County.

From the diary of John Strother, surveyor:

“25th [May 1799]. – We had a very disagreeable night the morning appears gloomy—some of our horses lost. Mr. Logan cut his foot; it will be bad. The horses were at length found. We all eat our breakfast & set out on the line, went ¾ mile. It set in and rained hard and obliged us to take up camp at the first place that offered, which was a branch of Roan’s Creek, where we spent an uncomfortable evening. The next day being the Lard’s day we spent it here in prayers for a plesant tour to ye Painted Rock. Genl McDowell left us this day. He is sick.”

1800 Census, Burke County, North Carolina

McDowell, Charles: 2 [James R., Athan Allen], 1 [Charles Gordon], 0, 0, 1 [self]; 0, 1 [Sarah Grace “Sallie,”] 1 [Margaret “Peggy,”] 0, 1 [wife Grace Greenlee]

McDowell, Joseph: 1 [Hugh Hervey], 0, 0, 1 [self], 0; 3 [Clarissa Mira, Celia, Hannah], 2 [Margaret, Elizabeth], 1 [Sarah], 1 [wife Margaret Moffett], 0

McDowell, John: 1, 2, 0, 0, 1 [self]; 1, 2, 1, 1, 0

McDowel [sic], William: 0, 1, 3, 0, 1 [self]; 0, 2, 0, 0, 1

McDowell, Ann:* 0, 0, 0, 0, 0; 0, 0, 0, 0, 1 [self] 

*This is Ann "Annie" Evans, widow of "Hunting John" McDowell, and mother of Joseph "P.G." McDowell of Pleasant Gardens. 

(numbers indicate free white household members, in order: males 0-9 years, males 10-15, males 16-25, males 26-44, males 45+; females 0-9 years, females 10-15 years, females 16-25, females 26-44, females 45+) 

Settlers of Burke County, North Carolina

From Sketches of the Pioneers in Burke County History, by Col. Thomas George Walton, first published in the Morganton Herald in 1894:

"The MCDOWELLs, BOWMANs, and GREENLEEs came from Virginia to Burke County previous to the Revolution. JOSEPH MCDOWELL's grant on Quaker Meadows was dated 1749. They were all related by marriage or consanguinity. JOSEPH MCDOWELL, SR., was of Scotch descent, and emigrated from North Ireland to America. He was born in 1715, and emigrated with his wife at an early age, having offended his wife's relatives, the proud O'NEALs, the descendants of the ancient Irish kings, by his marriage with their sister, MARGARET O'NEAL. Wheeler, in his History of North Carolina writes as if they (Joseph and his wife Mary [sic, Margaret]) only had two sons, Generals CHARLES and JOSEPH MCDOWELL. On the contrary, there were four: HUGH, CHARLES, JOSEPH, and JOHN MCDOWELL. Charles died the owner of Quaker Meadows; Joseph died the owner of the fine plantation on John's River, where the widow of the late Dr. JOHN MCDOWELL now lives [in 1894]. Dr. MCDOWELL was grandson of Major JOSEPH MCDOWELL, of Pleasant Gardens, the son of HUNTING JOHN MCDOWELL,* the brother of JOSEPH MCDOWELL, SR.
HUGH MCDOWELL was the father of MARGARET, who married Capt. JAMES MURPHY, and the only child, JOHN HUGH (MURPHY) was the offspring of this marriage. He married MARGARET STRINGER AVERY, a niece of Col. WAIGHTSTILL AVERY, SR."

*"Hunting John" McDowell (b. abt 1717) was actually the son of Charles McDowell (b. abt 1697), who was the oldest brother of Joseph McDowell, Sr. (b. 27 Feb 1715). "Hunting John" was therefore the nephew of Joseph McDowell, Sr.

1790 Census, Burke County, North Carolina

1st Company* 
McDowell, James: 1 [self], 2, 2, 2
McDowell, John: 1 [self, i.e., "Hunting John,"], 1 [?], 1 [wife Ann "Annie" Evans], 1
McDowell, Joseph, Jun. [son of "Hunting John," Pleasant Gardens**]: 1 [self], 2 [John Moffett, George], 1 [wife Mary Moffett], 9
Carson, John: 2 [self, ?], 5 [Joseph McDowell, Jason Hazzard, Charles, James, John W.], 2 [Sarah “Sally,” wife Rachel Matilda McDowell], 12

6th Company***
McDowell, John: 2, 2, 4, 5

7th Company****
McDowell, Joseph, Col. [Quaker Meadows]: 2 [self, ?], 0, 5 [Hannah, Margaret, Elizabeth, Sarah, wife Margaret Moffett], 10
McDowell, Charles [Quaker Meadows]: 1 [self], 2 [Charles Gordon, Athan Allen], 5 [Margaret “Peggy,” Sarah “Sallie,” Eliza Grace, wife Grace Greenlee, ?], 10

13th Company*****
McDowell, William: 1 [self], 4, 4, 0

*Present McDowell County & part of present northern Rutherford County
**Scots-Irish naming tradition of the time assigned "Junior" to the youngest within the extended family, and not the direct son. "Jun." suffix is verbatim from handwritten 1790 census document.
***Western Burke County, including Bridgewater, Lake James and part of present eastern McDowell County
****Middle Burke County, including Quaker Meadows
*****South-southeastern Burke County, including Salem and South Mountains

(numbers indicate household members, in order: white males 16 years and over, white males 0-15 years, white females, slaves)

The Two Josephs McDowell

From History of the McDowells and Connections, by John Hugh McDowell, pub. 1918, C. B. Johnston, pp. 235-237:

Joseph McDowell, of Quaker Meadows, was a handsome man, wonderfully magnetic, universally popular, and of more than ordinary ability. He was a born leader of men, and was represented by the old men of succeeding generations to have retained to his death the unbounded confidence and affection of the old soldiers. Margaret Moffitt was a woman of extraordinary beauty, as was her sister, Mary.

After the battle of King's Mountain, in October, Joseph McDowell, of Quaker Meadows, remained in the field with 190 mounted riflemen, including the younger Joseph, as one of his officers, until he joined Morgan on December 29, and participated in the battle of Cow Pens.

Joseph, of Pleasant Gardens, was a brilliant man, of more solid ability than his cousin, of the same name. The late Silas McDowell, who died in Macon County, but lived during his early life first in Burke and then in Buncombe, in discussing in an unpublished letter, of which I have a copy, the prominent men who lived west of Lincoln County, reaches the conclusion that prior to the day of D. L. Swain, Samuel P. Carson and Dr. Robert B. Vance, no man in that section had, according to tradition, towered far above his fellows intellectually, except Joseph McDowell, of Pleasant Gardens, whose "light went out when he was in his noonday prime, and in the last decade of the eighteenth century." He was born February 26, 1758 and died 1795. His widow married Colonel John Carson, whose first wife was the daughter of "Hunting John." Samuel P. Carson, the oldest son by the second marriage of Mary Moffitt McDowell, was a member of the Senate of North Carolina in 1822, and was born Jan. 22, 1798 (See Wheeler's Reminiscences, page 89). Joseph, of Quaker Meadows, was born in 1756, was two years older, and therefore must have been Joseph, Sr. Wheeler records the name of Joseph McDowell, Sr., as having served successively from 1787 to 1792, inclusively, as a member of the House of Commons from Burke County, but not after a later date (See list of Burke Legislators, Wheeler's History, Part 22, page 62). Joseph McDowell, according to the same authority, was a State Senator, succeeding General Charles from 1791 to 1795, inclusively, and during that time did not serve in Congress, though he unquestionably served later. These and other facts have led the writer to believe Joseph Jr., served one term in Congress from 1793 to 1795, when he died, and that afterwards, and up to the time of his death, the elder cousin was a member. Joseph McDowell, Jr., was not in public life after 1792, unless he served one term in Congress before his death. It is not probable that he lived from 1792 to 1795 without holding an official position.

McDowells at Kings Mountain

From History of the McDowells and Connections, by John Hugh McDowell, pub. 1918, C. B. Johnston, pp. 235-237:

Charles McDowell had organized the clan into a compact, formidable force. The proposed scene of conflict was in his district, and, under military rules then in force, he was entitled to command. When, however, it became apparent that jealousy might impair the efficiency of the little army, he cheerfully agreed to go to Mecklenburg 
or Rowan and invite General Davidson to take charge. After he had left on this mission it was deemed by the council of war best to attack Ferguson before his forces could be strengthened by Cornwallis, and the result indicated the wisdom of this conclusion. Governor Shelby published an account in 1823, in which, after lauding General Charles McDowell as a patriot and a brave and able officer, he said that after it was decided by the council to send to headquarters for a general officer to take command, Charles McDowell requested, as he could not command, to be allowed to take 
the message, and added that "He accordingly started immediately, leaving his men under his brother, Major Joseph McDowell." (Wheeler's History, Part 2, page 59.) It was Shelby who next day made the generous move to place Campbell in command to obviate the danger of delay. Within the next twenty years some of the lineal descendants of Joseph McDowell, of Pleasant Gardens, have insisted that the command of the Burke men at King's Mountain devolved on their ancestor, not on his cousin Joseph, of Quaker Meadows. The writer would be rejoiced to be convinced that this contention is well founded, but is constrained to conclude that it is not. Shelby had come over with Sevier, at the instance of Charles McDowell, under whose command he had previously fought, with all three of the McDowells, at Musgrove's Mill, and other places. He must have known whether the brother or the cousin of Colonel Charles McDowell was next in rank to him, and he said it was the brother.
“Poor's Sketches of Congressmen” state that Joseph McDowell who was born at Winchester, Va., in 1756, and died in 1801, was elected a member of the third and also of the fifth Congress, and commanded a portion of the right wing of the army that stormed King's Mountain. In a subsequent sketch of Joseph J. McDowell, he says he was born in Burke County, N. C., Nov. 13, 1800, was a son of Joseph McDowell, member from North Carolina, and was himself a member from 1843 to 1847. The widow of Joseph McDowell, of Quaker Meadows, left North Carolina with her little children and went to Kentucky soon after her husband’s death. His home was on the banks of the Johns River, near where Bishop Spangenburg must have encamped when he declared that the land was the most fertile he had seen in Carolina. These sketches have always been prepared after consultation with the member as to his previous history, and we must conclude that both father and son bore testimony to the truth of history—the father that he was in command, the son that such was the family history derived from his mother. Dr. Hervey McDowell, of Cynthiana. Ky., who presided over the first Scotch-Irish Convention, at Nashville, Tenn., and who died at the ripe age of four score, a year or two since, had devoted much of his life to the study of family history, and had conversed with members of the family who knew Joseph of Quaker Meadows, and Joseph of Pleasant Gardens, and were familiar with their history.
Speaking of the agreement of Colonel Charles McDowell to go to headquarters, Dr. Hervey McDowell says:
"He thereupon turned over the command of his regiment to his brother, Joseph, of Quaker Meadows, who was thus promoted from the position of Major, which he had held in his regiment, to that of acting Colonel, and in the regular order of promotion Captain Joe, of Pleasant Gardens (the cousin and brother-in-law of the other Joe) became Major Joe, he having been senior captain of the regiment." 

With the rank, one of Colonel and the other of Major, these cousins of the same name led the brave sharpshooters who fought so heroically at Cow-Pens and in the many fights of less consequence. Sarah McDowell, a daughter of Captain John, who was killed by the Shawnees, married Colonel George Moffitt, a wealthy and distinguished officer in the war for independence. His accomplished daughter, Margaret, married Joseph McDowell, of Quaker Meadows, and her youngest sister became the wife of Joseph of Pleasant Gardens. The cousins served Burke County acceptably in the House of Commons and Senate of the State Legislature and in the Convention at Hillsboro, as they had both won distinction while fighting side by side on a number of battlefields. The writer has inclined to the opinion that both served in Congress, Joseph McDowell, Jr., of Pleasant Gardens, from 1793 to 1795, when he died, and Joseph, Sr., of Quaker Meadows, from 1797 to 1799. But this is still a debated question.

Patrick Ferguson's China Service

Ever since the Revolutionary War, argument over the command of the Burke and Rutherford regiments at the tide-turning Battle of Kings Mountain on 7 October 1780 has continued to persist. Which Joseph McDowell deserves the credit: Pleasant Gardens or Quaker Meadows? Both? The Pleasant Gardens crew often boil the argument down to ownership of British Commander Major Patrick Ferguson's field service. 

(click image to enlarge)

(Photo source: History of the McDowells and Connections, by John Hugh McDowell, pub. 1918, C. B. Johnston, page 260)

Charles McDowell & The Kings Mountain Command

From "The McDowells of Burke County Divided Over Who Commanded at King's Mountain," A Sketch by Judge M. L. McCorkle, Charlotte Democrat, Charlotte, NC, 6 July 1894:

[Joseph] McDowell [b. 1715], of Quaker Meadows, married Margaret O'Neil. They were married in Ulster, Ireland. They determined to encounter all the perils in search of what better fortune might await them on this side of the broad ocean. They first settled in Pennsylvania. Thence they soon moved to Winchester, Va. There their sons, Charles and Joe, were born—the former in 1743; the latter in 1755. They removed to North Carolina and settled at Quaker Meadows. Their sons soon grew to manhood. Charles, afterwards General Charles, early embarked in the War of the Revolution. He was soon placed in command of Burke and Rutherford Counties, a large military district at that time. Stoutly he had held the mountain passes against the Indians, and had made several successful expeditions against the Cherokees; one called the Rutherford campaign, another the Stono expedition. He was engaged in a number of skirmishes with the Tories. He had a small force under him to resist Col. Ferguson. With this force he went across the mountains to obtain assistance, and was in consultation with Colonels Shelby and Sevier. It was decided that each should make an effort to raise all the men he could, and that they should meet on the Wautauga. Colonel Shelby informed Colonel William Campbell, of Washington County, Virginia, of their purpose and asked them to join them. They met on the Wautauga and were joined by Colonels Cleveland, Campbell, Sevier and others. They immediately crossed the mountains near the head of the Catawba river. They ascertained that they were nearly all of the same rank, and had no general officer to command them. It was decided to send Colonel Charles McDowell to Hillsboro, to see General Gates and procure a general officer to command the troops. In the meantime, they elected Colonel Campbell, the red-headed Argyle, as commander-in-chief of all the forces present.
It is said that Colonel Campbell was placed in command through courtesy, on account of his being from a sister State and also on account of his having the largest number of men under him. Colonel Charles McDowell turned his regiment over to the command of Major Joe McDowell, of Pleasant Garden, until he should return from his mission; but the great battle was fought before he returned. This was the last of Colonel Charles McDowell's military career. He lived many years after the war at his paternal home Quaker Meadows, and served his country and district many times in the Senate of North Carolina, from 1783 to 1788. He died at Quaker Meadows greatly beloved and respected by all who knew him. The following tablet was placed over his grave: "To the memory of General Charles McDowell, A Whig officer in the Revolutionary War, who died, as he had lived, a patriot, the 31st of March, 1815, aged about 70 years."

Joseph McDowell Who's Who

Newton, N.C.
June 17th, 1880

W.S. Pearson, Esq.

My dear Sir:

The confusion alluded to by you has grown out of the erroneous data furnished to Mr. Wheeler, who confounded the names of Gen. & Col. Jos. McDowell, and indeed ignored the latter entirely, in his History of N.C.
Gen. Jos. lived on John's river in Burke county, and was not in the war of the Revolution as an officer. He obtained his commission in the Militia after the war--or, his title was honorary. He was a brother of Gen. Charles. He was a remarkably fine looking man; was social in his habits; genial in his disposition; and popular among the people. He was member of Congress 1793-1795. Gen. Irving McDowell spring from him. He and Col. Jos. married sisters--Misses Moffett of Virginia & there is a strong family likeness among their descendants.
Col. Jos. McDowell was the only son of "Hunting" John. He was born at the Pleasant Gardens Feb[ruar]y 25th 1758, & there he lived & died and was always spoken of as Col. Jos. of the Pleasant Gardens in contradistinction to Gen. Jos.
He was an ardent patriot, and must have had considerable taste for military life. He was in Gen. Rutherford's campaign against the Cherokee Indians in 1776, and although only 18 years old at the time, must have been an officer for he killed an Indian in battle with his sword. This statement was made to me by Maj. Ben. Burgin of McDowell Co., who was personally well acquainted with all the members of the McDowell family of that day, and learned this fact from an eye-witness who was a near relative of his wife's.
Col. Jos. McDowell was at the head of a body of troops in the battle of the Cowpens; led a small force at Ramsour's Mill; and at King's Mountain, commanded Gen. Charles McDowell's regiment--having the rank of Major. At that time he was only 22 years of age. He was very active in getting up the force to act in conjunction with Campbell, Sevier, Shelby & others, and a skirmish which he had with Ferguson's men in the lower part of Burke County, immediately before the rendezvous on the Watauga, alarmed Ferguson and caused him to commence his retreat from Gilbert Town. He it was for whom McDowell County was named, and Maj. Ben Burgin prided himself in having been the first to suggest the name.
Col. Jos. McDowell was a man of great personal dignity. He was remarkably modest and gentle in his manner, and retiring in his disposition. He had very little taste for political life; yet, in deference to the wishes of the people, who had the greatest reverence and friendship for him, he represented them frequently in the state Senate; was their member in the State Convention which met to consider the question of adopting the Federal Constitution in Hillsboro July 1788; and represented them in Congress 1795-1797.
Intellectually he was a man of no small ability, and wielded a great influence, not only among the people in his part of the state, but in Legislative bodies, when a member. In his opinion, the Federal Constitution did not sufficiently guard the rights of the States, and the liberties of the people. He therefore actively opposed its adoption. This convention rejected it by a vote of 184 to 84.
Physically he was always delicate, and died a young man in the latter part of 1798 or in 1799*—being only about 40 years old. His children were John McDowell of Rutherford County, James [Moffett McDowell] of Yancey Co., and Anne, who married Capt. Charles, son of Gen. Charles McDowell of Burke Co.
His widow married Col. John Carson, and was the mother of the Hon. Samuel P. Carson, & other children.
Very truly yours,

G. W. Michal

(Letter of Dr. G.W. Michal (1825-1892), Physician of Newton, North Carolina. From the W.S. Pearson Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill, NC)
_______________
*Enough data exists to support the death date for Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens to be in 1795. His father "Hunting John" McDowell's May 1796 will names his newly orphaned grandson Joseph who was born in January 1796, and also mentions a "current guardian." Joseph "P.G." McDowell's widow Mary Moffett remarried in 1797 to Colonel John Hazzard Carson. Their first child Samuel Price Carson was born 22 January 1798. (John Carson was a widower. His first wife was P.G.'s older sister Rachel Matilda McDowell, who died in 1795.)